How did Nick Saban assist UA softball's return to the Women's College World Series?

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- From October to now, it has been the "unspoken goal," an unyielding rule of silence and a process for an elite Alabama softball program to finally become a NCAA title-winning one.

UA PhotoAlabama's Kelley Montalvo in OKC: "We don't want to be just the top eight. We want to take it all the way. We're tired of just coming here."

Sound familiar? It should.

Trace Wednesday's arrival at the Women's College World Series to a fall day when the Crimson Tide was mysteriously asked to show up in the film room of the Alabama football complex. The host was Nick Saban.

"He walked in, and we're like, 'Is that really who we think it is?'" senior third baseman Kelley Montalvo said. "And he just started talking. It was great, because coaches don't do that, especially football coaches. They won't take the time to do that with a girl's sport. So when he did that, we just embraced it. We took in everything he said."

(Want more Alabama coverage from the Press-Register? Check out today's story from Oklahoma City on ace softball pitcher Kelsi Dunne and more details on yesterday's aquittal of football signee Nico Johnson)

The message was quintessential Saban: Practice hard. Play hard. Stay focused. Take it one game at a time and things will take care of themselves, so long as you don't mention that toxic phrase -- "national championship."

From there, a rallying cry for a season was born.

"It was really, really hard the whole year not to talk about (the national title)," Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said Wednesday. "It's never been on a bulletin board. It's never been on a piece of paper, but definitely everyone is thinking about it. Once you get here, it makes it more real. It's attainable."

It can be said now. Alabama softball stands five victories away from a national title. Given how well this team is playing, it appears to be the best shot Murphy has had in six years of sending talented teams to Oklahoma City.

The overall record is 52-9. In five NCAA tournament games, Alabama won four by the eight-run mercy rule. The exception was a 7-0 result over Texas. Super Regional opponent Jacksonville State didn't manage a single base hit in a pair of 9-0 defeats.

Montalvo, Ashley Holcombe, Brittany Rogers, Kellie Eubanks and Lauren Parker comprise the most accomplished senior class in program history. Other than Parker, a transfer, the others have now been to the WCWS three times in four years.

"It's crunch time," Montalvo said. "Now it's more, 'OK, there's no more next year.' There's no more, 'Oh, it's OK. We're in the top eight.' No, we don't want to be just the top eight. We want to take it all the way. We're tired of just coming here."

As big as a national title this week would be for Alabama softball, it would be even larger for UA's entire athletics department. The only programs on campus to claim national titles are football and gymnastics, the most recent coming in 2002.

It's not that teams haven't come close. Baseball has twice lost in the final game of the College World Series. More recently, men's golf was ranked No. 1 before flubbing its way to 13th place in last year's NCAA finals. Football was one quarter away from playing for the BCS title this past season.

But as Saban and others lamented after that SEC title game loss to Florida, legitimate chances to play for the big trophy are rare. You need to make the most of them.

Perhaps Alabama's football coach saw something in this softball team in October, and so far, he's been right. Next up is today's 6 p.m. opener against Michigan. Of course, it would be a school like that.